Is Relaxed Hair Really Protein Sensitive?

I follow many blogs, articles and healthy hair enthusiasts. While playing catch up on some reading, I noticed an article that bluntly stated, relaxed hair is not protein sensitive. What’s wrong with that statement? I thought you’d never ask — everything! Most would skim over this statement and accept it to be fact. I, on the other hand, feel this statement is not true. The general consensus seems to be chemically altered hair loves protein – but you see, this is not always the case! Just ask my hair!

I’ve been on this healthy hair journey long enough to know that healthy hair enthusiasts will never totally agree. However, the unfortunate thing about varying views is that it confuses the newbie population looking for answers to the how and why of relaxed healthy hair care.

I’ve surfed, lurked and posted on enough hair forums to know every time a relaxed head presents a question regarding “why is my hair >>insert question<<” the response is usually — use protein. While balancing moisture and protein is necessary, protein treatments are not always the right answer or solution to the problem. Other factors like diet (maybe), hair porosity, wash day / weekly hair regimen, product selection, product usage and styling tools should also be factored.

I recall my earlier days of struggling with healthy hair care, hair forum norms suggested I use protein and porosity control. Like most newbies, I moved to action and implemented the recommendations. Bad idea! My hair suffered tremendously. Protein treatments and porosity control rate high on my list of worst recommendations accepted. I eventually learned my hair is low porosity and protein sensitive although relaxed. My hair does not neatly fit inside the box of relaxed hair norms.

By now you might be scratching your head trying to figure out where is this post headed. While relaxed hair in general loves protein, not all relaxed hair falls into this norm. Therefore, be cautious of the information you accept as truth. It’s all about trial and error and doing what is right and best for your hair regardless if that falls in or out of the norms. I’d love to hear from you —

Girl, that is crazy. My hair was more sensitive when it was natural but even as a texlaxed diva, it’s still protein sensitive. You want to see my hair break, let me use protein treatments like most relaxed or texlaxed women. It will be 10 types of ugly. I learned that the hard way. I rarely use protein. Maintaining my m/p balance involves me doing moisture treatments weekly and protein one a month at most but normally every couple of months. The bulk of my protein comes in now when I’m prepping for a texlax and for my mid step protein treatment. Girl, don’t have me on my blog fussing too. LOLTiki recently posted…Merry Christmas!

HEY T! I didn’t see this until I read your comment on FB. Thank you so much for chiming in. I knew I wasn’t in this struggle alone. I seriously don’t know why the general thought is relaxed hair loves protein — sigh.Divachyk recently posted…Merry Christmas from Relaxed Thairapy!!

It’s ok. That’s why I left the comment. I know mine don’t always show. No, you are definitely not alone in the protein struggle. I use the same products texlaxed as I did natural. BTW, have you made up your mind about transitioning?

I think that the general thought that relaxed hair loves protein comes from the fact that relaxers break the protein bonds in our hair. It seems like people make the assumption that since we have a loss of protein, as relaxed ladies, our hair will be protein loving to make up for what it has lost. My hair is not protein sensitive, but I do agree with you. I think that factors other than whether you are relaxed or not, such as porosity and hair type, play a role your hair’s protein sensitivity.Melanie recently posted…Liebster Blogger Award!

My hair’s not protein sensitive by any means and I do think that all types of curly hair can and benefit from protein. Yet with all things in life, how you put it together, how often you use it and what you use matters. I can use protein once a week and my hair is in love. You can try to do the same thing and your hair will hate you. Like you said, trial and error will tell you whats right for your hair and whats wrong. Plus, if all else fails, load up the protein in your diet and keep it moving!

LOL.. I believe and know that relaxed hair is still hair and YES any hair can be protein sensitive which really means can react adversely or not optimally to the addition of hydrolyzed or other nonnatural proteins. all proteins used that your body did not manufacture are unnatural in some way or other even if they are naturally occurring animal, plant or chemically derived proteins.

I am glad you made the remarks about the entire community not necessarily being in agreement, let’s take it further and say even the science of hair care is really in its infancy and we know very little about hair except how to affect how it feels and looks—how it actually is grown, what stimulates it and why is a mystery.

when you hear about products like Rogaine or others for hair growth, that information is anecdotal–meaning the drug was used for something else then someone noticed it cost hair to grow or stop shedding or …

this means no one “discovered a hair cure for balding or hair growth tonic, they just found out that something made for one reason, also had a pleasant side affect.

all that to say we still don’t really understand all there is to know about how hair grows and we certainly are still not sure how to affect or control growth–so anyone who says what all hair does or does not do is probably guessing (to put it kindly) The best person to know their hair is YOU and for those who are not as knowledgeable it might be a great idea to DESCRIBE what protein sensitive hair can feel and look like and how it will behave.

For me, I realized I had an issue with protein after I would do any type of protein use and deep condition and my hair felt like straw or like an unloved barbie doll you found at the bottom of the toy box with her hair all matted and hard and stringy all over her head.

After a protein treatment, it would take about 2 to 3 days before my hair felt better and this, after many, many sessions (sometimes up to 4 in a day) of deep conditioning and prayer.

I have the same type of reaction to henna but the hard feelings usually dissapate after 2 deep conditioners.

for years I searched for better conditioners thinking if I could just find the right one–then I noticed that my hair never felt crazy like that except right after a protein or henna treatment.

I began to play around with yogurt and coconut cream concentrate to see if they affected me. Yes they did–over time I began to play with my hair and at a basic level, all DIY are scientists who are testing and experimenting with their own hair.

NO matter who you talk to or what they know–your head is unique and we should never let anyone try to dissuade or convince us that hair is one size fits all or that they have definitive knowledge about hair–no one does–if they did–they would be zillionaires by now as they would have eliminated balding and women would all be tripping over their long, natural silky hair that could grow past their feet.

Sensitivity has to do with immunoresponses and perhaps allergy reactions–hair is nothing more than modified keratin or modified skin, so just like your skin can react to the environment and chemicals–so can your hair–it just does not show up the same because you don’t have feeling to make your strands itch or break out, but our hair has other ways of saying it is unhappy and yes–relaxed hair can be protein sensitive EVEN IF it needs protein–the trick then, is how to supply something to your hair that may cause a reaction.

The one thing it would be hard for hair to be (but it still might be, who knows) is low porosity–unless a lot of protein is used, that is not likely but if a person uses a lot of protein, then even relaxed hair will present as Low porosity hair.